OutdoorMN News - DNR announces speakers for angler and hunter summit

[Rick]

Declining participation in fishing and hunting has led the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to plan a two-day conference from Friday, Aug. 26, to Saturday, Aug. 27, that will focus on recruiting and retaining hunters and anglers.  

“We are excited to share that several experts will be participating in the summit, including presentations from national experts, reflections from local organizations, and breakout sessions to address opportunities and common challenges to recruiting anglers and hunters,” said Jeff Ledermann, angler recruitment, retention and education supervisor.

Keynote speakers include:

• Matt Dunfee is the programs manager for the Wildlife Management Institute, a 101-year old, nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to science-based, professional wildlife management. He has developed recruitment, retention and re-engagement strategies; developed related programs, evaluations and best practices; and conducted numerous multi-day training and information workshops on the topic for state and federal wildlife agency staff and administrators.
• Ron Hustvedt, Jr. is the founder of WriteOutdoors.com. His writing appears regularly in numerous regional and national publications and frequently includes experiences of teaching his own young children to fish and hunt. He is a middle school social studies teacher and received the 2014 National Teacher of the Year from the Magnet Schools of America.
• Col. Scott St. Sauver is the post commander of Camp Ripley. He is a leader of hunting programs and “Trolling for Troops,” where pro anglers accompany disabled veterans, current service members and recently deployed soldiers on a fishing excursion for the day. He will share stories how these programs have impacted the lives of participants and insights on what we can learn from them.

The conference will allow for information sharing on best practices to design and deliver recruitment and retention programs. Breakout sessions to address common challenges are also scheduled and include topics to increase participation of women, youth and other new audiences; recruiting the right volunteers; funding opportunities and designing effective field days.

Additionally, the DNR will provide a free toolkit with templates for new programs, strategies to enhance existing programs, evaluation tools, and checklists to help program planning and management.

The Aug. 26-27 conference will be at Earle Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Drive, Brooklyn Center. Volunteers and staff of organizations or agencies and members of the public involved or interested in preserving Minnesota’s outdoor heritage are encouraged to attend. There are no fees for registration or meals. Online registration is open on the DNR website.

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